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WILTON, Conn. – As the Connecticut legislature takes up the contentious issue of legalizing the medical use of marijuana, state Sen. Toni Boucher stood in front of the Judiciary Committee and spoke out against the idea.
It is disappointing, Boucher said during a hearing in Hartford on Wednesday, that this type of legislation should be introduced during a session so focused on education reform. “We should not be considering a bill that would send a such a negative message to our families and children — the very ones that education reform is meant to assist in making the most of their potential,” Boucher said in her statement. Boucher, a Republican represents Wilton and part of Norwalk.
If the bill passed, she said, it “would increase substance abuse, crime and legal challenges in Connecticut that have characterized medical marijuana programs in other states.”
State Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield, agreed with Boucher. But because of the changes in the dispensing methods, he said the bill will come out of committee and will be heard on the legislative floor. The Senate minority leader also represents parts of Easton and Weston.
A major concern of McKinney’s is that the “universe of illnesses for which medical marijuana is prescribed is far too broad.”
Law enforcement officials are concerned how medical marijuana could be regulated on the street.
Easton's Police Chief James Candee said Thursday that he had several questions surrounding the possible legalization. "I think it's important to ask how can the police department ID someone who is supposed to be carrying it?"
Candee said if the bill were to pass, he would like to see prescription approval labeled on driver’s licenses or have the state issue identification cards to those who are prescribed the drug. "A photo ID would be nice," Candee said.
This way, he said, if an officer were to come into contact with a person legally in possession of marijuana, they can differentiate them from someone who is using the drug illegally.
John Troxell, Weston's chief of police, said he understands the fears on the lack of regulation. But he said, "All that will be worked out by the state government."
A real problem, he said, could come from anyone who drives under the influence of the drug, which he said would be an arresting offense.
Comments (12)
Alcohol is legal, regulated, and taxed, and as some of the other commenters have noted, alcohol abuse dwarfs abuse of any other drug. How do we know that legalizing marijuana won't lead to the same widespread abuse?
Then your argument should be to ban alcohol. The only problem is that we have State Senators who frequent Wilton establishments (one is closed for the time being) who enjoys an alcoholic beverage or two.
Toni Boucher should have acquaintances who have glaucoma, are quadrapalegics, have undescribable pain from cancer, and other illnesses where cannibas can control the pain. She is way out of line.
What we should ban is the FDA who allow drug companies and doctors to prescribe medicines that have killed thousands of people over the years only to be pulled from the market after the fact.
You didn't answer my question. Alcohol is legal and as a result is the most widely abused drug. If we legalize marijuana, how can we be confident that it won't be as widely abused as alcohol?
Banning alcohol is not possible, since it's already so widely ingrained in our culture. But we can learn from the example and be extremely cautious about putting a government stamp of approval on yet another drug.
The government (FDA) unfortunately has approved many drugs that have caused the deaths of thousands of people. I have not heard of one person dying of a marijuana overdose or abuse. That's my answer.
Thank you "pfroehlich2004" for posting ACTUAL facts. Politicians like to spin information however it suits them. The only thing I slightly agree with in regards to Boucher's comments is that if the session were dedicated to Education reform, it was not the appropriate time to bring this up.
I fully support a medical marijuana law in this state and will be sure to let both Sen. Boucher and Sen. Mckinney know it.
Here is there website to contact them.... LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!
http://ctsenaterepublicans.com/contact-boucher/
http://ctsenaterepublicans.com/contact-mckinney/
Thank You Toni Boucher for protecting us from this scam of a bill. Its amazing how many people are so fervently for this when they are not even ill themselves. There are a lot of questions and doubt surrounding the benefits of legal marijuana. 80% of the people FOR it? Really? where does that number come from and who paid for that study? What these people want is NOT walking into a pharmacy and being able to get a limited amount of marijuana and be tracked as to how much they are buying with their drivers license or other ID....they want stores that they can walk into a purchase it freely under the guise of "medical need". They are full of it. If they want to rot their brains and allow drugs to destroy not only themselves but their families as well, let them do it the illegal way. And I'm sick of people pointing to one bad behavior (.i.e. abusing alcohol) and saying that another should be allowed because of it..There are already enough drunks driving around killing people, we don't need to add stoned people to that list. Approval is approval, plain and simple.
You really should read the bill and see what it does before you make baseless comments. There will be no purchasing under the "guise of medical need," there are safeguards against that and a limited number of debilitating conditions for which it can be recommended by a doctor with whom the patient must have a bona fide relationship.
And the notion that you have to be sick yourself to support this is absurd - many people are fighting for loved ones and for their rights. They may be fighting because someone has already died or suffered through something. The time to start fighting for medical marijuana is not after you or your loved one has been diagnosed - by then it is too late.
You have no clue.
Research the regulations that States like California and Colorado have on their Medical Marijuana laws.
Also, read this study. States that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes have actually seen a DECLINE in alcohol related accidents and fatalities.
http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/02/why-medical-marijuana-laws-reduce-traffic-deaths/
Also, did you know that our founding fathers, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both smoked and grew Marijuana?
Toni Boucher should be checked out for her unwarranted neurotic behavior. She should also stop drinking those cocktails because it can lead to alcoholism and crime.
Not only is Toni Boucher ill informed about the issue, but you should be ashamed for putting out such a one-sided piece. There were dozens of people who spoke in favor of the legislation in Hartford and only Boucher and few others who spoke against. 80% of CT voters support this legislation; you are grossly out of touch.
In her testimony, Boucher, who claims to be an expert, showed her lack of knowledge by repeatedly saying that THC was available in pill form so that should be enough. THC is the psychoactive part of the plant with very little medicinal value and less when not combined with the cannibinoids also present in the plant; in short, the THC pills only get the patients high.
Further, she repeatedly said that there was no medicinal value and that she can't support it because of the federal position, but then reverses both those positions in her testimony minutes later. She admitted its value for cancer patients and said she would support the bill if it only covered end-of-life cancer patients!
And she repeatedly brings up smoking, again showing that she is far from an expert and less informed than the general population. Fewer patients smoke marijuana in states where medical marijuana is legal, preferring to use vaporization, edibles, tinctures, topical creams or other delivery methods, including natural extracts in pill form.
Mrs. Boucher would know all this if she had the courage to stay through the hearing and face all the patients with heartbreaking stories and real experts who testified. The consensus among citizens who have found palliative relief from marijuana was that they would disagree with, but respect her position if she only had the guts to tell say to the faces of sick, dying, paralyzed, handicapped, and disabled patients, "No, you have not suffered enough; you are a criminal and all medical options should not be available to you."
Is Toni Boucher hiding something from us?
An appeal to all Prohibitionists:
Most of us know that individuals who use illegal drugs are going to get high - no matter what, so why do you not prefer they acquire them in stores that check IDs and pay taxes? Even if we could afford to put anti-narcotic police on every single street corner, we also know that at least half of them would soon become dealers themselves. Gifting the market in narcotics to ruthless criminals, foreign terrorists and corrupt law enforcement officials is seriously compromising our children's, and grandchildren's, future.
We simply cannot continue with a policy that has proven itself to be a poison in the veins of practically every free nation on this planet. Even if you cannot bear the thought of people using drugs, there is absolutely nothing you, or any government, can do to stop them. We have spent 40 years and trillions of dollars on this dangerous farce; Prohibition will not suddenly and miraculously start showing different results.
Do you actually believe you may personally have something to lose If we were to begin basing drug policy on science & logic instead of ignorance, hate and lies? Maybe you're a police officer, a prison guard or a local/national politician. Possibly you're scared of losing employment, overtime-pay, the many kick-backs and those regular fat bribes. But what good will any of that do you once our society has followed Mexico over the dystopian abyss of dismembered bodies, vats of acid and marauding thugs carrying gold-plated AK-47s with leopard-skinned gunstocks?
Kindly allow us to forgo the next level of your sycophantic prohibition-engendered mayhem!
Prohibition Prevents Regulation : Legalize, Regulate and Tax!
If the bill passed, she said, it “would increase substance abuse, crime and legal challenges in Connecticut that have characterized medical marijuana programs in other states.”
If medical marijuana is so dangerous, why hasn't California experienced any of these problems? According to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, in the 13 years following the passage of its medical marijuana ballot initiative, California experienced a 45.29% drop in the violent crime rate and a 37.14% drop in the property crime rate.
In 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, 1.49% of the total population of Connecticut was admitted for substance abuse treatment. Yet California, with its big, scary medical marijuana program saw only 0.45% of its population admitted for substance abuse treatment.
But hey, who needs facts when you've got baseless, hysterical propaganda?
FBI Crime Data: http://ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/StatebyState.cfm
2010 CA Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions: http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/quicklink/ca10.htm
2010 CT Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions:
http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/quicklink/ct10.htm